After watching the other rafts drift away from them, the passengers grew subdued and quiet. The raft listed to the right. Too many people were sitting on the right side, and the raft was unbalanced. The waves were getting bigger, and the wind picked up. They had to rearrange the passengers to stabilize their raft. Janine took her high heels off so she wouldn’t puncture the raft, then maneuvered to the center of the raft to persuade people to move.
“Everyone, please take off anything sharp. Remove jewelry, shoes, large watches, pens, or anything else that could puncture our raft.”
Janine made a point of looking into the faces of her passengers as she moved among them. When she asked them to shift position, she touched each person’s shoulder or arm to connect with them. She smiled and thanked them for their cooperation.
Kerri was impressed with Janine’s ability to lead the passengers, calm them, and get the job done. She directed them with kindness and self-confidence.
Kerri snorted out a little laugh. Who wouldn’t want to follow a Nordic goddess and do everything she asked?
“What are you smiling about?” Janine plopped down next to her.
“Oh, nothing. I’m just very impressed with your ability to handle the passengers. You’re very skilled.”
“I’m nothing special. I just really care about them and want to take care of them.”
“Well, you’re doing a great job, and I appreciate it.”
“Thanks, but you have to listen to me. You’re coming on way too strong for these people. If you yell at them and order them around, they’ll revolt.”
“I don’t care if they do. We’re in a survival situation, and I’m not going to sweet-talk anyone.”
“Kerri, you and I need these people. We can’t put up the canopy by ourselves, especially in this weather. Look behind you. We’re getting pulled into some very rough weather.”
Kerri turned in her seat in the front of the raft, looked to the horizon, and could no longer see any sign of their other three rafts. The wind and the current had moved them far to the north of everyone else. She’d been doing mental calculations using her button magnetic compass and her favorite silver pilot’s watch. Assuming they were drifting at fifteen knots, she guessed they were at least seventy-five miles off course.
Now they were drifting toward the edges of a big storm. “This isn’t good.”
Janine leaned into Kerri’s ear. “What’s not good?”
“This storm. It’s the edges of a typhoon. We were well south of it on our flight’s planned route, but now we’re drifting right into it. We’ve got to secure this raft.” Kerri grabbed the megaphone.
“Ladies and gentlemen, those of you near the edge of the raft, look around and you’ll see a big fabric piece rolled up. We need to open it. It’s the protective canopy for the raft, which will keep the rain out. We’re in for some rough weather, and we need to attach this canopy to the inflated posts around the raft. Let’s move quickly, please.” Kerri was trying to sound calm, because they were in for a world of hurt if they didn’t cover their raft.
Everyone around the perimeter of the raft busily opened the canopy and secured it to the raft posts. They had to move fast or risk having water from the waves and the rain swamp them.
“Kerri, we have to secure everything loose in the raft before this storm hits us.”
Kerri picked up the megaphone again.
“Ladies and gentlemen, please look around you for anything loose and pass it forward. We need the emergency equipment, water bottles, soda cans, and any other food.” Everyone was helping, and Kerri had to admit that Janine’s style of speaking to the passengers was certainly better than her own. Only one person, Mr. Shapiro from 3B, wasn’t joining in.
Janine crawled over some people to speak to him. Kerri was sure she could work her magic on him and get him to cooperate, until she heard him shouting at Janine.
“Get the hell away from me. I’m not putting that raft cover over my head because I’ll get seasick.” Then he shoved Janine backward, and she fell over some of the other passengers.
Kerri saw red when he put his hands on Janine. She jumped over other passengers to speak directly to him.
“What the hell’s wrong with you? She’s trying to help keep you from drowning. Put the canopy up now.” She abandoned her “nice” voice and used her command voice on him.
“No, I won’t. And you know what else, Captain? Fuck you. You got us into this mess, and I intend to sue you and your crappy airline. This is all your fault.”
Kerri tried one last time to get through to him. “Mr. Shapiro, if we don’t secure the canopy around the entire raft, we’ll take on water. You’re putting everyone on this raft at risk. Attach the canopy now.”
“Hell, no. If you weren’t so incompetent as a pilot, we wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place.”
Kerri grabbed the man’s two-hundred-dollar necktie, pulled his face into her own, unsnapped her holster, drew her weapon, and jammed the barrel of her forty-caliber pistol into his neck. She yanked him up, shoved his head and shoulders over the side of the raft, bent over him from above, and said, “Listen up, you asshole. You are endangering the lives of every person on this raft. Either connect the canopy where you’re sitting and shut the hell up, or I’ll throw you overboard.”
“You wouldn’t dare. I’m a Million Mile Flier with your airline.”
“Just watch me.” Kerri pushed her gun farther into his neck.
A soft hand touched her shoulder.
“Kerri, please let him go. I’m sure Mr. Shapiro understands how important it is to safeguard our raft, and he’s going to work with us now, aren’t you, Mr. Shapiro?”
He appeared terrified, with Kerri’s face next to his and her gun pressed next to his head.
“Ye…yes, I will. Sorry for the misunderstanding.” He looked like he was about to cry.
Kerri reluctantly let go of his necktie, and he slid back down into his seat. Janine came over and attached the last part of the raft canopy to the post, just as the rain from the storm started to pelt them. Kerri holstered her weapon and returned to her seat at the front of the raft, all the passengers staring at her.
She had never pointed her gun at a real person before, only paper targets. She was still fuming about what a jerk this guy was. When he’d laid hands on Janine earlier, she’d wanted to blow his head off and see a satisfying cloud of red mist where his brain used to be. The stress of this emergency was getting to her, and maybe she’d gone too far. When Shapiro had called her incompetent and blamed her for the emergency they were in, his words had struck close to home. Had she screwed something up? Was this all her fault?
Janine came and sat next to her. “Kerri, please put your gun away. We don’t need it, and now the passengers are afraid of you.”
“I guess I overreacted.” The rain from the storm hit them in sheets of water. The raft pitched and rolled in the giant swells. Could this get any worse?
* * *
Janine’s heart was pounding, and she had trouble catching her breath. In addition to being in a raft with seventy people and getting tossed around in a storm, now she had a trigger-happy captain to deal with. The passengers had just started to settle down when Kerri drew her gun on Mr. Shapiro for refusing to follow commands. True, he was a total selfish jerk, but he didn’t deserve a gun pointed at his head. The expression on Kerri’s face when she had him by the neck, pointing her gun at him, was frighteningly familiar.
It reminded her of the bad years of her life before Molly changed everything. Janine looked at her watch. She would normally be in her hotel room by now, changed out of her uniform dress and heels, lying on the bed, and calling her daughter. She loved hearing about Molly’s day at school and the funny, quirky way she saw the world. Janine would sell her soul just to hear Molly’s voice again.
The wind and high waves pushed their raft around. This storm was going to be bad and probably last all night. Janine reached for the megaphone.
“Those of you near the sides of the raft, grab onto the rope around the top of the raft. If you’re sitting in the middle area, hook your arms together and hold on to each other. This is going to be a rough ride, so we all have to hang on tight.”
The wind howled, and the raft rolled through the rising swells. Janine heard passengers wailing and retching but was helpless to assist them. She had her arm looped around the raft rope, hanging on as hard as she could. She’d never been seasick before, but the violent heaving made her struggle not to vomit. This torture was endless.
Kerri shouted so Janine could hear her. “Is it okay if I put my jacket around you? You’re getting soaked.”
“Yes. But don’t take it off. Just put your arm over my shoulder. Then we both might not get too wet.”
“Fat chance of that.” Kerri moved close to her, opened her captain’s jacket, and draped her arm and jacket over Janine’s shoulders. She feels so nice and toasty.
“Thank you, Kerri. Sorry I’m shivering.” Kerri gently pulled her into her side.
She lost all sense of time. The storm assaulted them for hours. They were in pitch darkness. She was cold and wet from the stinging sea spray, her arms ached from clinging to the rope, and the raft was still violently tossing on the frothing ocean. Was this the way Death would take her? Drown her in the middle of the ocean, her body never to be found?
Janine tried, and failed, to conjure the image of Molly’s beautiful, freckled face. The only way she could withstand the pain of the rope rubbing her skin raw, and the fear that made her entire body shake, was to speak her mantra. “Hang on. Hang on, for Molly.” Hour after endless hour, Janine felt her mind and her battered body sink into a pit of despair. I’m never going to see her again.
* * *
Thursday, May 8
Kerri’s eyelids were crusted closed with salt. Her right arm and hand were numb. She was nauseous and disoriented. She forced her eyes open and carefully raised the edge of the canopy to look outside. Kerri thought she was seeing an illusion. As she blinked, the vision became real. It was a thin band of dark blue against the black sky. Recognition from years of all-night flights brought a tiny smile to her cracked lips. It was the first light of dawn. By some miracle, they were still alive.
They had survived the worst night of her life. She hoped no one was seriously injured, since all they had was a first-aid kit. The howling wind had died down, and she could hear people moaning. The raft appeared to be mainly intact, and she didn’t want to wake any passengers. She took a moment to enjoy the sight of the horizon and relish the dawn light creeping into the sky. She hadn’t been sure she’d ever see this sight again. It was a new day, and it certainly couldn’t be any worse than yesterday.
Kerri’s shoulder hurt, and she was aware of her arm still wrapped around the rope. She also felt Janine stir next to her. She had her left arm around Janine’s shoulder, and both her legs were wrapped around Janine’s waist. Kerri’s shoulder throbbed, but she didn’t want to disturb Janine. Her nearness was comforting. After enduring the Seventh Circle of Hell last night, she just wanted to enjoy the sensation of Janine next to her for a moment.
“Are we dead?” Janine’s voice was raspy.
“Not yet, but we came real close. Are you all right?”
“You held on to to me with your legs. I guess I couldn’t grip the rope anymore. Thanks.”
Kerri disentangled herself from Janine. “We need to assess the condition of the raft and the passengers.”
“Can we just take a minute to breathe and leave the raft and the passengers alone for the moment?”
“Sure.”
Kerri put her logical, analytical, task-oriented brain on hold, took a deep breath, and just sat next to Janine. They were cramped and uncomfortable, but Kerri enjoyed the sensation of having Janine next to her. Her clothes were damp, her blond hair disheveled, but she was still beautiful, except for the dark circles under her eyes. They didn’t speak. Instead, they just watched the eastern sky as the first light of day chased away the frightening darkness.
Watching the sun rise, after flying all night long, was one of the most beautiful sights Kerri enjoyed from her pilot’s seat. The pale colors slowly emerged from the black sky—first as dark blue, then lighter blue, then soft gold and pink as the day became alive. It would be several minutes before the actual sun came up, but seeing the amazing colors of dawn gave Kerri a small glimmer of hope that they might be rescued.
“It’s so beautiful,” Janine whispered, like she didn’t want to break the magic spell.
“Yes, it is.”
They sat next to each other in silence, looking at the sky, just breathing fresh air.
Gradually they heard some of the passengers stirring as the sky grew lighter. Then the complaining started. Their moment of quiet beauty was over, and they had to deal with the reality of their situation.
Kerri looked over the side of the raft to the sea. The torrential rain had stopped, the high winds had died down, and the swells were now only five feet high. The raft was still undulating with the sea, but not as violently.
“I think it’s safe to roll up the sides of the canopy and let in some air.”
“I agree.”
Kerri and Janine unhooked their side of the canopy, leaving it connected at the top posts. The passengers around the raft also rolled up their sides. The rush of clean air blew away the stench in the raft. Seeing the sun come up, and opening the sides of the canopy to let in the air, made the passengers calmer, the view stunning them all into silence. The rippling swells glittered with sunlight as fluffy white clouds drifted by against a pale-blue sky. It looked like a tropical postcard, except no island was present, or any land at all. The sight was both magnificent and desolate.
Janine picked up the megaphone. “Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Congratulations on surviving the worst night I’ve ever had. I don’t know about you, but I’ll never be staying at this establishment again.”
Kerri couldn’t help but chuckle. They all looked like drowned rats and smelled like the floor of a dive bar, but Janine found a way to make them laugh. This girl had skills.
“Look around you for anything loose—water bottles, cans, raft equipment, food—and pass it forward to Captain Kerri. Please find the silver coffee pots, and let’s start bailing out our raft.”
The passengers obediently complied, and Kerri assessed their supplies. They had only three big water bottles, eight cans of Coke, two sleeves of biscotti cookies, and an entire tray of miniature liqueurs. Well, at least she could have a shot of Kahlua after this ordeal ended.
Fortunately, they still had their medical kit, raft survival kit, air pump, and raft patches, but the most critical thing was missing.
“Crap.” Kerri started frantically looking all around her.
“What’s the matter?”
“We’re missing the emergency-locator transmitter.”
Kerri grabbed the megaphone. “Folks, we need you all to look around where you’re sitting. We need to find the ELT. It’s bright yellow, about the size of a coffee can, and has a blue rope attached to it.”
Their situation was still very dangerous, and she absolutely had to have that ELT. It was a water-activated automatic beacon that transmitted their position through the satellite GPS system to the Rescue Coordination Center. It was the homing beacon ships and aircraft used to search for them. Losing their ELT made it much more difficult for any rescue ships to find them. Their situation had just become ten times worse.
Kerri needed to inform the passengers about their very limited supply of water and food, but she kept their ELT problem to herself. She wanted to be truthful but not alarm them. She picked up the megaphone.
“Ladies and gentlemen, first, I want to thank you for helping clean out the raft. Secondly, I want to tell you about our supplies. I know many of you are still seasick, but we have very little water and food on board. I’m going to pass around one water bottle. Every person can have a small drink of water, one ounce only, please. I’ll also pass out one sleeve of cookies, and each person gets exactly one. We appreciate your cooperation.”
“Captain Kerri, I don’t feel good.” It was Mel, the young girl from seat 15G.
“What’s the matter, Mel?”
“I threw up four times last night, and my stomach still hurts.”
“I’m so sorry you feel bad. We don’t have very much right now, but I’m going to give you a can of Coke. Drink this slowly.”
Mel took the can, sat next to Kerri, and sipped her drink. “Do you know if my mom and dad got onto one of the other rafts? They’re not on this one. I checked already.”
Kerri and Janine looked at each other, trying to come up with an answer. They had no idea where her parents were, or if they were even alive.
“I’m sure they’re on one of the other rafts. We’ll all see each other again after we get rescued.” Kerri tried to sound reassuring.
“Captain Kerri, I think the ELT you asked about got washed overboard last night.”
“Did you see it, honey?”
“No, but I saw a blue rope attached to the raft, floating in the water, with nothing on the end of it.”
“Damn it,” Kerri muttered.
“Hey, Captain. Speaking of rescue, when are you going to get us out of this disgusting raft?” It was Mr. Shapiro yelling at her from the middle of the raft, where everyone could hear him.
Kerri wanted to tell him to shut the hell up. Instead, in her most even tone of voice, she answered him.
“We gave the coordinates of our position to another aircraft, and they alerted the Rescue Coordination Center, which notifies all ships in our vicinity. I’m sure ships are headed our way as we speak.”
Kerri really hoped what she’d just said was true, but she had no idea if it was. The storm last night had blown them far away from her last reported position. Without their ELT, the aircraft and ships looking for them could be hundreds of miles away searching in the wrong area. She had no clue if rescue ships were enroute or if they’d ever be found. But she had to keep this information to herself.
Just then, Kerri saw Mr. Shapiro look around quickly, presumably to make sure no one saw him. Then he pulled out a hidden full bottle of water and took a long swig.
“Hey! Where’d you get that water bottle. Pass it forward.”
“I brought it with me. It’s mine,” he lied.
Kerri started to jump up to go take the water away from him, but Janine’s hand on her arm stopped her. “Wait, Kerri. Let me talk to him first.”
Janine crawled over the passengers to reach him and bent down to speak to him privately. After that, he handed his water bottle to her. She smiled at him, then returned to her seat with the water. Kerri was again impressed with her skill at handling difficult passengers.
After she sat down, Janine leaned in toward Kerri. “Is there any chance they really do know where we are after that storm?”
For a long moment, Kerri didn’t answer her, but finally she whispered her reply so the passengers couldn’t hear her. “I have no idea. We’ve been blown far away from our original position and the other rafts, thanks to that idiot throwing away our sea anchor. Worst of all, we’ve lost the ELT.”
Janine sat in stunned silence.
“All we can do is go through our procedures and hope someone picks up our signals.”
Kerri saw tears well up in Janine’s eyes. She reached for her hand. “Please, Janine. We have to keep it together for the passengers.”
“Okay,” she answered softly.
Kerri wanted to hold Janine and comfort her. Janine was strong, smart, and very capable, but she was clearly upset. She wanted to talk to Janine, but now wasn’t the time.
They had a job to do. They had to figure out how to be found.